Closure operator



1956 J. L. HUTCHINSON 2,772,087

cnosugm OPERATOR Filed Oct. 17, 1952 United States PatentO CLOSURE OPERATOR John L. Hutchinson, Wheaten, 111. I

Application October 17, 1952, Serial No. 315,257

Claims. (Cl. 26872) This invention relates to a mechanism for at least partially opening closures such as the'overhead swinging type.

In many garage constructions, one form of door employed is that which is unitary and non-folding, and which when in an openlposition is temporarily stored overhead in a horizontal plane between two track members. Such a door is generally controlled by a spring and counterbalancing mechanism, permitting the door to be held in any given position. I

While it is, of course, desirable to have all working parts freely operable, such is not the case; and, in general, doors of the foregoing type are often diflicult to open from their closed position. This is especially true when inside the garage, if the latter contains a car. The front end of the car or back end, as the case may be in most garages is very close to the door, leaving little room for exerting the necessary pressure required for opening which is most effective when applied near the lower central portion of the door, at least initially.

Further, in many installations, the garage door, when slammed into closed position, often sticks as a result of the closeness of the fit between the door, the sides of the opening, and the floor. To open the door in such a case requires an unusual amount of pressure generally down near the junction between the door and the floor, often necessitating a kick with the foot to crack the door to a position where it may be raised further.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a mechanism which will assist an operator in opening a door of the type, for example, as that described above.

Another object is the provision of a linkage which, when expanded under pressure, will coact with a surface normal to a closure to at least partially open the same.

A further object is to provide a mechanism of the foregoing type which is permanently attached to the door and which will not interfere with either egress from, or ingress to, an enclosure.

The foregoing and other objects will become more apparent by reference to the accompanying drawing and the hereinafter detailed description thereof wherein:

Fig. I is an elevational view partly in section of the mechanism in normal retracted position.

Fig. II is a similar view of the mechanism in expanded position.

Fig. III is a view taken on line 33 of Fig. I minus the spring, partly in elevation and partly in section; and

Fig. IV is a top view of Fig. I along line 4-4 minus the spring and stop member, and partly in section.

Referring more particularly to the drawing and to Fig. I thereof, there is shown a garage door 1 in closed position normal to the floor 2 of the garage. The door 1 is the type which is initially swung outwardly from the bottom followed by an upward and backward movement guided by a pair of tracks and rollers at the top thereof, not shown, until in a horizontal plane overhead and within the garage.

Attached to the door near the lower end thereof is the ."ice

operating mechanism of the present invention designated generally by the numeral 3. This mechanism is composed of a linkage comprising arms 4 and 5 which are pivotally connected at 6. Arm 4 is, in turn, pivotally attached ,to door 1, as shown at 7, by means of a bracket 8. The arm 5 has attached thereto on its free end, in one embodiment, a rotatable number 9, having two end portions of enlarged diameter.

Associated with the linkage at pivot point 6 is a foot pedal 10 which normally remains in a horizontal posi tion and is adapted to cause expansion of the linkage when pressed downward. Attached to the door at any desirable point is a spring 11 whose other end is attached to arm 5 and normally keeps the latter arm and thus the link-age in a retracted or collapsed position. In order to keep the linkage from being completely collapsed against the door, and thus in a relatively inoperable position, there is provided attached to arm 4 a stop 12 which permits the mechanism to be retained a sufficient distance from the garage door to insure operation. Further, in order to insure that the arms 4 and 5 of the linkage are always spaced at the proper angle to guarantee operation and also to prevent their complete collapse under influence of the spring, appropriate spacing means are provided. An example of such a spacing means are the two laterally extending members 13 and 14 attached to the depending portions of the foot pedal 10 (see Fig. 111).

Adapted to limit the movement of the linkage in one direction and thus force the door outward is a stop member 15 which may take the form of a metal element embedded in or otherwise attached to the floor of the garage. An alternate means for limiting the movement of the linkage may comprise a depression 16 in the floor, shown in dotted lines, and having a downwardly extending slope and a verttical end wall.

In order to permit spring member 11 freedom of movement in the vicinity of arm 4 of the linkage, the latter may be composed of two parallel spaced bars, etc., or a single flat bar having an appropriate opening for the spring in the form of an elongated slot, as shown in Fig.

In operation, it can be seen that, when pressure is applied to the foot pedal 10, arm 5 of the linkage will move outward a short distance, roller 9 being in contact with the floor 2, if .the latter is not already in contact with member 15. After this initial movement, roller 9 will engage stop member 15, thereby preventing further lateral movement of arm 5. Upon continued pressure on pedal 10, the linkage will further expand and with arm 5 limited from further lateral movement, arm 4 will force the bottom part of door 1 outward, as disclosed in Fig. II.

Thus, as a result of the foregoing operation, the large initial forces holding the door will be overcome by simply stepping on the pedal, such that the door will be opened to a point where it may be readily raised the remainder of the distance without trouble. Further the linkage being normally contracted will be held free from engaging the top of the car when driven from the garage.

I claim:

1. The combination with a closure for moving the closure relative to a surface substantially normal thereto of a first lever arm having one end thereof pivotally attached to said closure, a second lever arm pivotally attached to said first lever arm, the opposite end of said second lever arm being unattached and adapted for contact with said surface, means for normally urging said arms into a contracted position, means for preventing said arms from assuming a completely collapsed position, means associated with said surface for limiting the travel of the unattached end of said second lever arm, and

means upon which a force may be applied at the point f P ot et ee sai a m o se a at m dterm;

2. The combination-as described in claim 1 wherein said means for normally urging said arms into a contrea e 20 M9 1 wmnris s a spr n on n f whisk is attached. to saidsecond lever arm and the other end attached tosaid closure.

.3. The combination as described :in claim) wherein said first lever arm is provided with an aperture and said 7 spring exte'nds'through said aperture and is freely moving therethrough during expansion and contraction.

4. The combination as described in, claim l wherein,

I unattached end of said second lever arm is provided with a roller to. permit rolling contact with said surface.

7. A door opener for moving a door relative to a 'surfaceprc-vided with a stop comprising in combination a first lever arm, means for pivotaily attaching one end of said arm to the door, a second lever arm pivotally at.-

tached to saidrfirst lever arm and having one end adapted for removable engagement with said stop, a spring adapted for connection between said second'lever arm and said door, means for preventing said lever arms from completely collapsing against each other, means for preventing said'lever arms from collapsing against said door, and means attached to said arms at their point of pivot for applying a force to the assembly to expand the same.

8. A door opener as described in claim 7 wherein the s end at seidsssond leve am adartsd t r r nls abls e1 gagement with said stop is provided with a freely rotatable roller for engaging said surface. Y

9. A door opener for moving a door relative to a surface provided with a stop comprising in combination a first lever arm having an aperture therein, means for pivotally attaching 0116;6Ild, 0 f said arm to the door, a

second lever arm, means for'pivotally attaching said second arm .to said first arm, a'freelcndof said second lever a-rm being adapted for removable engagement with said stop, an operating member forexp'andingsaid arms at e th etca the Poin s vqt be w e sa a m a spring adapted for connection between said-second lever' arm and said door and freely movable through the aperture in said first lever arm, means for preventing said first lever arm from collapsing against said door, and V means for preventing said lever arms from collapsing against each other.v

10, A door opener as describedin claim 9 wherein said operating member and the means for preventing said lever arms: from collapsingagainst. each other are formed as an integral unit. t t r. I

V R trencssfi t t ni e fi Q s pat I UNITED STATES PATENTS- 779,355 7 1,042,381 Baker Oct. 29, I9l2' 1,625,941 Hofienberg Apr; 26 1927 1 ,689,111 Burt Oct'. '23, 1928 1.951642 Hansen May 8; 1934 2,405,887 Hoffman Aug.- I3, 1946 

